Subaru restyles the fifth-generation Forester. The richly endowed SUV is available to order in France for €45,990 in its latest version. Despite its hybrid engine, it is subject to a significant ecological penalty.
The Subaru Forester pursues in our regions a discreet career in more ways than one. On the one hand, because the Japanese manufacturer, which is very popular in the USA or Australia, is not very popular with buyers in Europe. On the other hand because the fifth generation SUV, marketed in France in 2019, suffers the blow of a heavy ecological penalty even though it is equipped with a hybrid engine. It’s literally the price to pay for enjoyingtrue four-wheel drive with naturally aspirated gasoline engine. Never mind, Subaru has just restyled the Forester and is now marketing this “phase 2” in France.
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A further expanded security range
More than style, the changes made to the Forester mainly concern its driving aids. Adaptive cruise control with lane keeping, lane departure warning with edge recognition and road and central reservation, and assistance with emergency avoidance maneuvers come to garnish a standard equipment already provided in the matter. Subaru took the opportunity to improve the devices already offered previously such as:
- cameras from the EyeSight range (field of vision almost twice as wide)
- autonomous emergency braking with intersection recognition
- driver monitoring with fatigue detector and automatic adjustment of the seat, mirrors and air conditioning
A unique configuration richly endowed
Aesthetically, the facelifted Forester is mainly recognizable by its redesigned grille, front light units, fog lamps and front bumper for an impression of increased robustness. Only the X-Break finish, recognizable by the orange edging running through its sills, is offered in France. In addition to the driving aids mentioned above, its standard equipment is intended to be complete and includes in particular:
- 4-zone air conditioning
- 8-inch central touch screen
- navigation system
- reversing camera
- directional LED spotlights
- LED fog lights
- panoramic sunroof
- motorized tailgate
- heated front seats
- heated steering wheel
- electrically folding mirrors
- hill start assist
- blind spot monitoring
- 18 inch aluminum rims
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More than €55,000 with penalty
The Subaru Forester is still powered by an e-Boxer engine which combines a 2.0 L flat four-cylinder petrol engine developing 150 hp and 194 Nm with a 16.7 hp and 66 Nm electric motor integrated into a Lineartronic transmission (CVT), with four-wheel drive.
The approximately 0.6 kWh lithium-ion battery that powers this electro-motor theoretically allows the Forester to travel up to 1.6 km on electricity alone at a maximum of 40 km/h. Subaru says it has improved the responsiveness and fluidity of the hybrid system. In addition, a new feature of the X-Mode driving mode dedicated to low-grip terrain allows, if desired, it to be automatically reactivated below 35 km/h. With a weight of 1,685 kg empty, a combined consumption of 8.1 L/100 km and above all average CO emissions2 185 g/km on the WLTP cycle despite its electrification, the Subaru Forester is penalized by a minimum ecological penalty of €9,550 to be added to its price of €45,990.
With its 4.64 m length, this atypical competitor of the Toyota RAV4, Ford Kuga, Renault Koleos and other Honda CR-V, even Peugeot 5008 although it only offers five seats, retains its real adventurer skills as an asset. able to attract a niche clientele that seems to remain loyal to it. The Forester remains among Subaru’s best sellers with 4.5 million units sold since the launch of the first generation in 1997, including 357,000 in Europe.
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